A Family Affair
by AsYouAre
Summary: Regina Mills decides after 11 years that she wants her son's father to be involved in his life, but when she seeks out the father, his whole family actually manages to worm their way into Regina's heart, especially a certain brother of his. Now, Regina must decide if she's ready for a huge family and the affairs that come with it. OQ AU.


_**Author's Note:**_ _I know, I know, I really need to stop introducing new fanfics. But alas, here we are. I'm afraid I couldn't ignore this one. Don't worry, all my other fics are still in progress and I plan to continue them along with this one._ Study Hall _, is the priority but sometimes, I just need a break from it, so that's why this one is here. The concept is VERY loosely based on one of my all-time favorite films,_ While You Were Sleeping _… except the plots are_ _entirely_ _different, but if you've seen the film, you'll get what I mean._

 _I fumbled some family ties—sue me._

 _Rating subject to change. And as always, I do not own anything._

* * *

Being a single parent is hard.

But making yourself a single parent is even harder. That is a lesson Regina Mills had learned fairly early in life when she decided to not tell her on again/off again boyfriend about the son that he'd helped create. Instead, after her college graduation, she'd just returned home and moved on with her life, staying with her parents for awhile, just long enough to get on her feet. She'd always told herself that she'd never end up like many of the girls in her hometown, who walked out of high school carrying a diploma _and_ a baby. She'd sworn up and down that she would wait for a long time, that way she could have a concrete nursing job and a steady paycheck to take care of anyone else that came along. But then, enter Graham, handsome, a little back woodsy, but otherwise smart and a genuinely kind man. He was a year behind her in school, but they'd met in her BIO 101 class, when she was a sophomore, and they became lab partners, and then (occasional) partners in real life.

They had been the type of couple that was together one week and then not speaking the next, but they'd always found their way back to one another, somehow, someway. That is, until March of her final spring semester. She'd told Graham that she wanted to explore her options outside of Boston, and perhaps, outside of Massachusetts altogether, a facet he was none too pleased about. And then she'd chosen to call it off for good, citing something along the lines of, "I can't have someone tell me how to live my life, not anymore. It's over." And that'd been the last thing she'd said to him, just over 11 years ago.

She's not sure why she never picked up the telephone and called, if even to just simply say, "Graham, you have a son." She could've easily done that, and perhaps could've even dared to tell him that he needn't worry about child support or anything, that she has it all covered—she just wanted him to know, in case he wanted to be a part of Henry's life. But here they are 11 years later, with Regina Mills sitting at the edge of her bed, clutching a flimsy piece of paper in her hand—on it, an address belonging to a one Graham Hunt.

She'd received the letter a little over a month ago after she moved back to Boston from her original home in Winthrop, following her father's passing. She'd needed to get away from her hometown, particularly from her mother, who, though was divorced from Regina's father, still lived in the same city and attempted to "reach out" when Henry Sr. died. So, Regina and her 11 year old son, fled back to the big city, to find a life outside of Winthrop.

Naturally, of course, Henry's curiosity concerning his father's whereabouts had become a central theme in the Mills household, so she had sought Graham out when they returned, hoping that she could convince him, after all this time to be a dad. But Regina, for lack of a better word, was, and still is, a chicken. She'd sent Graham a letter, old fashioned, she knows, but it was better than facing him and far more cordial than Facebook Messenger. Surprisingly, two weeks later, a white envelope with hideous penmanship (which is what immediately, indicated that it was from Graham) ended up in her mailbox. She was absolutely surprised that he answered at all and more so by his actual response, which, of course, detailed his total shock and confusion, but gave her an address to come to whenever she was prepared to introduce father and son.

And today, she's following through with that plan.

"So are you excited?"

Emma had been berating Regina all morning about her afternoon plans. She's relentless as ever, hell bent on finding out any and all details surrounding Regina's rendezvous; and despite the fact that Regina is used to that, it's grating her last nerve. Emma is the best friend she could ask for, but today is stressful enough as it is, and the last thing she needs is her neighbor and now current baby sitter breathing down her neck.

"Of course, Emma. I'm overjoyed at the prospect of showing up to the man who fathered my child's doorstep tonight," Regina shoots back airily as she rises and crosses the room over into her master bath, directly to the counter, in order to look into the mirror and put her earrings in. Her hands shake and she can feel the slickness in her palms as all but her forefinger and thumb rest there to but the backs of the earrings on.

He didn't leave a number, and though she has one, she hasn't called—mostly for fear that it won't actually be his number, but also because, if he had wanted her to call, then he would've given her number. Though, it does feel weird to her that she could just pop up unexpectedly and he'd just welcome her in. She's fairly certain that the address he's given her is an office address, so it's not completely bizarre but she thinks that he'd a least want a heads up. It's no matter, though, because she's dedicated herself to going to the address today come hell or high water.

She's doing this solely for Henry.

Regina hadn't ever lied to Henry about how he was created. Although, she didn't divulge every detail; in fact, she basically told Henry that Graham had been a stranger and that he was never going to be a part of their lives—she'd made that clear. She had no real desire to drag Graham into all this mess and she still doesn't, all that mattered was that she had Henry, but when Henry started asking questions and Regina didn't provide favorable answers, Henry began acting out. Things had begun to spiral out of control before Regina could get a proper grip on them. His grades started to slip and his disregard for the rules began to increase steadily as time went on—there were more trips to the principal's office and more yelling and door slamming at home. At first, she tried to attribute it to her father's declining health and how that was weighing on Henry, and then the move, of course, but she'd always known the truth. Henry wanted answers, which is entirely reasonable, and Regina was, and technically still is, being unfair to him.

She hasn't exactly told Henry where she's going or what she's up to. As far as he knows, she's running errands that may keep her out late. She doesn't plan on telling him either before she goes. She'd rather him not know in the case that something goes wrong or he decides that he doesn't want to meet Henry after all—better for her to take the brunt of the pain than her son.

"Oh c'mon, Regina. If Henry has the chance to meet his dad then he should have that opportunity. God knows that if I ever had the chance to meet my parents when I was growing up—"

"That's the thing. I am Henry's parent. I am his mom. I raised him and that's all there is to it." She waves her hand behind her while the other stains her lips a deep red, "And some random guy won't change that."

Emma huffs, launching herself off the door frame that she's leaning on and walks up to stand behind Regina, holding her gaze in the mirror, "But this 'not really random guy' is still a part of who the kid is, whether you like that or not. And he is his parent."

Deep down, Regina knows that Emma's words hold some merit. If Henry wants to get to know his father, then he has every right to do so, which is exactly why Regina is getting ready to go out to the address to see if she can arrange a meeting between them. But that doesn't mean she has to like or approve of the situation and all it's potential outcomes. All she cares about is how this will inevitably affect Henry.

Turning to Emma, she voices her concerns. "He could be a con man or a criminal, by now. I don't know what's happened to him in the last ten years or so." That's a lie, she knows he's a lawyer, but the internet could only tell her so much. "Or he could be an all around terrible guy. What if he's nothing like what Henry expects and he hates him? And then he hates me for having him with this guy or something?"

"Well that's what today is for—to determine that," Emma tries.

Regina sighs, puffing her cheeks out in a dejected manner. She glances once more at her reflection. Her raven locks are wrapped neatly in a bun atop her head and she is wearing a sleek black dress that could probably be used as a weapon. The outfit is probably overdoing it, but who doesn't get all dressed to the nines when reconnecting with an old flame, simply to prove that they've been missing out on the wonderful developments and improvements being made?

Regina takes a deep breath and retracts from her self-regard, exiting the bathroom and bedroom, into the hall with Emma in tow and calls for Henry, who seconds later comes bounding down the stairs, Gameboy in hand as per usual—the thing is practically an appendage.

She places her hands on his shoulders, looking him square in the eye. She hates lying to him, but it's just omission, which isn't as bad, right?

"Okay, mister. You're in charge. Make sure Emma doesn't get into too much trouble." She feels a light whap on her arm but she merely presses on, disregarding Emma, "No desserts until after you've eaten the pizza I'm sure Emma will buy. And you are to be in the bed, showered, with teeth brushed by nine, if I'm not home by then. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yep," Henry grins up at her.

He's such a good kid.

"And you," she whirls around to face Emma, "Do not get my son involved in any of your crazy shenanigans. And try to keep yourself out of them while you're at it."

Emma salutes. Regina stands there a moment longer and passes her gaze from one to the other, trying to put the fear in them that would chill them to the bone, before turning back toward Henry to place a kiss on top of his head. They exchange 'I love you's and then her eyes follow him as he runs back up the stairs, without so much as another word—the gift of have a preteen.

She returns to Emma once more, reiterating her warnings. Emma does have a tendency of being a little too much like a teenager from time to time, which was probably why she and Henry get along so well—and why she was perfect for a babysitting job like this. Nonetheless, Regina knows Henry is in the best hands she could place him in. Emma, though entirely childish at times, values Henry's safety and wellbeing more than her whole life.

"Okay, well I'm off. Behave."

"Good luck! Let me know how it goes!" Emma calls after her as she paced across the foyer to the door. Upon opening it, she finds August standing right on the other side, fist raised to knock.

"You planning to bludgeon me in my threshold?" She teases.

August lowers his fist sheepishly, sniggering, "Hey Regina—thought you'd be gone by now."

Regina pushes the door open further to allow August to walk inside, which he does, head dipped low to escape Regina's glare. She isn't surprised, in the least, that Emma had invited her boyfriend over during her babysitting duties. August had practically been inducted as a member of their little unit after being with Emma for almost two years. And once Regina got to know him, she hasn't ever worried leaving Henry in his semi-care. He's a good guy and wouldn't do anything to hurt Henry. In fact, they'd seemed to bond really well over the past couple of years as well, particularly over the written word. Henry had always loved English and has always been good at it. She remembers him coming home in second grade with his first real poem, grinning from ear to ear and desperate for Regina to read it, the second he got in the car. August is a writer for The Boston Globe, which sold Henry on their friendship immediately. Not to mention, there's the added bonus that August promised the first copy of his first book to Henry—what Regina would've given to have taken a picture of that moment, of just the way Henry's face lit up. Henry had found his idol.

Plus, Henry was glad to see Emma with a guy who makes her happy. Her last boyfriend, Neal, had been good to her, but their relationship had always been rocky and often troublesome. And there had come a point where the two had to split up. Henry had loved Neal too and still keeps in touch with him via email, unbeknownst to Emma. Regina had worried that when August came on the scene that Henry wouldn't favor him and begin to retract from his relationship with Emma, as well, but lucky for them all, August contained the number one (okay, maybe two, after his Gameboy) interest of Henry's. Regina is happy seeing Emma opening herself up to a guy again. She tries to be less as invested in Emma's relationship as the blonde was with Regina's, but nevertheless, she believes Emma deserves to be happy and August seems to do that for her. So, she lets him stick around.

She warns August of the same rules and stipulations placed upon Emma and Henry, ones he's heard plenty of times before, and bids them all a good day, taking the deepest breath she can muster before walking out, leaving their yelled well wishes behind her.

[:]

Regina insists on driving; she doesn't care much for Boston's public transport. Thankfully, Graham lives and works in Boston too, so that no one is inconvenienced. He works in Dorchester, which was a little less than 20 minutes from her place in South End. He doesn't live far from the beach—Henry would love that. Although, if the meeting is to go well, Henry won't be able to take advantage of that fact for several more months, given that it's November and it was 40 degrees outside, a fact Regina had momentarily neglected when she steps from the warmth and comfort of her car. She'd been stressing so much on the drive over that everything had escaped her until the chill slapped her right back into reality.

She is about to meet Henry's father. After 11 years, she's finally going to be reunited with Graham Hunt.

It shouldn't be some huge deal. She shouldn't be panicking. But Regina had seen all the reality TV shows with similar situations and a lot of the time, they don't always end well. She's mostly worried that her fears of him being a completely different person or that maybe Graham changed his mind about his son after all will come true. The information she'd collected about him after college seemed promising; she couldn't find any criminal record or anything terribly offensive about him. But appearances aren't everything when it comes down to the core of a person.

She also wonders if he's physically changed a great deal or he's virtually quite similar to the Graham she remembers from college. Would she be able to recognize him? Well, technically she would, of course, because she'd stalked his Facebook but still pictures can be deceiving. And what if he doesn't recognize her? That would certainly be awkward.

She's being silly, she keeps telling herself as she gets out of her car and paces towards the front door of his building, the sound of her heels changing pitch as they go from smacking against pavement and then tile. There is no reason to assume the worst when she hasn't even given the guy a chance to speak yet in any capacity other than a letter.

Graham works as a lawyer, which had nearly always been his intention since he'd entered college, though Regina had often been worried about whether or not he'd make it, but he got his bachelor's in Psychology with a History minor and had enough extracurriculars to make him a shoe-in for law school. And according to the various sources she found through the internet, he did make it in and graduated from Harvard, an impressive and rather shocking fact, given Graham's GPA and lack of love for school when he graduated from their undergrad. But it seems that he'd bettered himself and dedicated himself to finishing his education. She's proud of him for that.

His office is on the third floor, so she takes the elevator with a scrawny, awkward looking man with red hair and thick-framed glasses and a Dalmatian. Animals can be allowed in the building—noted. Henry won't be allowed in this building because all she needs is for him to run into someone like the guy beside her because then he'll come home asking for a pet.

The man gives a small and polite greeting as the elevator dings three times for each floor. A pause. Then the doors fly open to be greeted by a man wiggling into his sports coat and grumbling about something.

Except, it isn't Graham.

He's a short guy, with a face twisted into a permanent scowl, giving off the impression that he's not to be bothered today, but he speaks to Regina anyway. "You looking for someone, sister?"

She's startled at first by his gruff voice, jumping before exiting the elevator. The guy doesn't give her a chance to answer quite yet, "Look, if you're here because you need an appointment, you'll have to come back in an hour. I'm going to lunch. Just so you know though, he's booked pretty solid for the next couple of months."

"Oh, I'm not here on business," she quickly negates. Although, she is a tad miffed that even if she was that he couldn't walk over to his little desk that she assumes is his, and put her in the calendar. She has half a mind to tell him how unprofessional it is but chooses to keep silent and wait for him to direct her to Graham.

"You a friend?"

Well, isn't that a loaded question. "Uh, yeah," she laughs nervously, unsure how to answer that any other way.

"You don't know?"

Regina pauses. Had there been something else to know? Had she missed something in the letter? "Know what?" she inquires, feeling her pulse quicken, the sound of blood roaring in her ears.

The small man purses his lips and sighs, turning about-face on his heel and marching over to the desk that Regina had picked out earlier. She deduces that she probably needs to follow and falls in line behind him as he waltzes over. His chair slides as he falls back into in and whirls around in one fluid motion, grabbing a pen and a pad along the way. She watches as he scribbles something on it, surely giving her an unnecessary task in deciphering his handwriting, but she resists the urge to correct, an inbred nature given to her from her mother.

He then rips the page off of the pad and extends it out to Regina. "I'm afraid you're in the wrong place. This address is where you need to go. Ask for Granny Lucas and she'll be able to fill you in."

"Fill me in? On what?"

"Look, if you're a friend, then I think it's best you hear it coming from her. But if you have any questions, the name's Leroy and my number's on that paper."

She finally takes the opportunity to look at the page in her hand. "The address is for Schenectady," she states dumbly.

"Yeah, I know." He appears to dismiss it like that isn't a 3-hour drive from where she is.

"Okay, and what makes you think I can just drop everything to drive all the way to Schenectady?" she snaps.

"It's up to you lady," he shrugs. "If you want answers, go. But I'm not giving them out—no way in hell am I going to be the dead messenger."

"Is Graham there?" she demands, her voice getting slightly higher in pitch, leveling with her rising blood pressure.

"In Schenectady? Yeah. But the rest you need to hear from Granny."

"Is that his grandmother or something?" she tries for more answers.

"You've never met her?"

Surprisingly, no, Regina had never met Graham's family. In fact, he'd hardly ever spoke of them at all when they'd dated. She's fairly certain that he'd once mentioned a sister, but that's about it. They never came to school functions and he never invited her home with him for a holiday or just to meet them. It'd never been a thing of strife between them though because Regina had made sure to keep her family as far away from Graham as possible, too, so she didn't have much room to gripe. Then again, ultimately, Graham had met Cora and Henry Sr.

"No, I haven't."

"Well, then you need to."

Jackass. She relents, though, not pushing the conversation any further because she knows she doesn't have time to sit around and play games with someone who's clearly not budging on telling her the facts.

"Fine, thank you for your help," she says through gritted teeth, trying her hardest not to stuff him in the tiny garbage can at the foot of his desk.

"Good luck…" he trails off searching for a name and gives his hand out for her to shake.

She takes it, "Regina."

"Good luck Regina."

[:]

Regina has been sitting in her car for at least a good 30 minutes, just sitting there, mindlessly observing all the people passing by on the streets—some couples old and young, others, families and some all alone just trying to move from one place to the next. She'd once been the latter, alone and moving from place to place, not trying in anyway to pick up any cling-ons that would hold her back. Even with Graham it was meant to be carefree and unrestrictive. And then came Henry, the boy who challenged everything about Regina's life of distance and anonymity. She thought she'd hate being a mother, solely based on the fact that she'd probably be terrible at it, but the moment that Henry was born, she had a family and nothing could change that ever.

The only thing that can change now is Graham.

That is, if she decides to go. Schenectady is a little over 3 hours away from her and she would have nowhere to stay. Plus, who's going to take care of Henry? She knows that Emma would do it in a heartbeat but she doesn't want to put her neighbor out or have Henry ask Emma a million questions that she can't answer. But Regina needs to get those answers to those questions, not only for her son, but also for herself. Not to mention, there are plenty of hotels in Schenectady. But what if the news is that he really doesn't want to see her and he's just trying to avoid her. Or worse, what if he's been kidnapped or he's dead?

She's getting irrational, she knows, but it's clear something is wrong and she has to travel all the way to Schenectady to get some answers. But first she needs to give some answers on how and why she's going.

She calls Emma to tell her everything and her friend consumes it all silently until she is finished explaining. She's afraid Emma will be too busy, or maybe, even think that she's crazy for doing this and should just wait and see if they'll work themselves out. But her friend's initial response is one that Regina really should've expected. "So, are you going?"

"You think I should just drop everything to go find Henry's father?" Regina asks incredulously, making a face in her rearview mirror.

"Yes," Emma answers without further contention, as if that's the only solution.

"Okay, well I can't take Henry with me, Emma."

"So I'll take care of the kid."

Regina knew that Emma would say it, and unfortunately, she hadn't come up with a good excuse to refute it. "I can't ask you to do that," she tries.

"Well I'm offering, so it doesn't matter."

Dammit.

"And my job?" she attempts yet again, searching for any reason not to turn on her car and drive all the way to New York.

"You have the weekend off, and if you need more time—quit."

Regina rolls her eyes right back into her rearview mirror. "Now is not the time for jokes, Miss Swan."

"And now is also not the time to be a coward Regina, so take your car and drive to this place and find Henry's dad and let them meet."

She knows Emma is right. They've had this discussion time and time again about how the decent thing to do is to let Henry know the truth about his dad and introduce the two if at all possible. For Emma it's a bit personal because she'd never met her parents either. They'd left her outside of a café on the side of the road and a little boy found her. Luckily, Emma had been adopted as a young girl by a kind woman named Sarah Fisher, who'd taken great care of Emma ever since, but the situation still hits a nerve with her.

Regina falls silent, chewing on her bottom lip and contemplating what this will do. On the one hand it could be a disaster and Henry goes without a father, but they've managed this long so what's the rest of his lifetime? And then on the other, it goes smoothly and Regina not only gets closure and possibly another parental figure for Henry but it could, perhaps, even help heal a few wounds for Emma in the process. However, she hesitates and stews just a little longer because she can't shake the feeling that she's going to get thrown a curve ball she won't see coming at all.

But she's Regina _fucking_ Mills; she can handle a curve ball.

She's decided then, this is for her family—this is what needs to be done for her family.

[:]

Her head is screaming, partially because she has a raging headache and partially because what she's about to do is life-altering and maybe even life-destroying, depending on the following minutes, after she pulls up to the address on the paper. Although, another worry surfaces when she arrives. The place is on the outskirts of the city and is secluded, the closest house being a little less than a mile down the road. She wonders if the man in Graham's office sent her on a wild goose chase, so that way Graham could express his feelings about reuniting with Regina and Henry, and Regina could get the picture. Fury races through her veins like a slingshot, heating up every inch of her body, that is until she sees a beautiful girl around 16 or 17 with long curly red locks come rocketing out of the door onto the porch and out into the yard, being chased by a much tinier human with cute bouncy, black curls and dimples Regina could spot from a mile away. They're screaming and laughing and it's music to Regina's ears. Sometimes she wished that she could've given Henry a little brother or sister to have the same luxury but that did not come to fruition.

It doesn't take the red head long before she spots Regina, stalling dead in her tracks and causing the little boy to ram right into the backs of her legs. But the girl is unfazed, transfixed and petrified at the sight of Regina. The girl begins to back away slowly, fear dancing wildly in her eyes and giving cause for Regina to scramble desperately out of her car. The red head turns then and begins to bolt for the house but Regina calls after her, "Wait! I didn't mean to startle you!"

She freezes again and so does Regina, not wanting to frighten the kids anymore than she has. The red head slowly turns to face her, holding the little boy tightly to her back. Regina can tell the girl is a spitfire with the way she's being stared down at the moment but Regina inches forward anyway, speaking in a soft tone, "I'm sorry if I scared you. My name is Regina." She places her palm flat on her chest continually getting closer to the two kids. "I'm looking for someone. A Granny Lucas? I need to speak with her."

The girl's voice takes Regina by surprise. Its Scottish and thick Scottish at that, "You a social worker?"

"Are you running from one?" Regina fires back without missing a beat and looking suspiciously at her.

"No, but that doesn't mean they won't come after me one day."

Regina can feel a little pang in her heart. Emma, on occasions would tell Regina about her time in the foster care system prior to being fostered and subsequently adopted by Ms. Fisher. But it'd sounded nightmarish, even more so than living under the same roof as Cora Mills and that was certainly saying something. Emma would not only mention the bad environments that she'd often been put into, but also the recurring fear that at any moment her foster family would just give her up, which had actually happened once when she was really little and the couple had conceived a child of their own and sent Emma back into the system. The fear that exhibits in Emma's eyes when she recounts those stories is the same now reflected in this young girl's eyes.

Regina gives the girl a soft smile, amiable and hopefully warm enough so that the girl knows she's is in no danger at all. "What's your name?"

"Merida," she answers simply.

"Well, Merida, don't worry, I'm not here to take you away. I'm here about a friend of mine and I was told to come talk to a Granny Lucas."

The little boy with the cute black hair finally speaks to her, "She's inside."

"And who are you?" she beams down at him, garnering a smile in return from him, including the flash of those ever present dimples.

"I'm Roland!" he announces proudly.

"Well, hi there Roland, can you guys take me to her?"

"Okay!" he exclaims and without a second thought runs out from behind the elder child's legs to link his hand with Regina's—nevermind that she's a perfect stranger, but he nevertheless drags her straight into the house, calling for Mrs. Lucas as soon as they cross the threshold.

Regina can hear the lead-footed stomps from the back of the house, headed towards the small foyer where she stands there, hand still glued to little Roland's. As the stomps get louder, so does the grumbling, which morphs into yelling, "Roland I thought we talked about hollering in my house."

Not really a good example if she was 'hollering' at the boy to reiterate her point, but that's none of Regina's business.

Finally, the grumpy hypocrite makes her appearance in the form of a stocky elderly woman with glasses hanging on her neck by a chain and a stern demeanor that Regina can sense from across the room. She trots her way closer and demands from Regina as to why she's here.

Suddenly, she's slightly terrified and she's not sure if it's the woman right in front of her, who seems to put the fear in anyone, or if it's the fact that it's all becoming real, no more games, just answers (like it or not) from this point on. Regina exhales heavily and tells the old lady her purpose.

"I'm looking for Graham Hunt and I was directed here—told you are the person I need to speak to. But look, if he doesn't want to see me that's fine, I mean, I don't appreciate that I drove all this way but if you could just tell me if that's it, I'll go on my merry way and move on."

"You don't know?"

"Funny the guy at the office said the exact same thing," she jests coldly and then drops her voice to a nearly nonexistent volume, "and yet, here I was thinking that maybe I'd get some answers."

Mrs. Lucas doesn't address Regina this time and instead looks to Merida and Roland. "Why don't you two take Miss—"

"—uh, Regina—Mills," she fills in.

"Take Miss Regina here into the living room and I'm going to put on some tea." She returns her focus to Regina then, "You like tea?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

Regina's entirely confused but follows Roland and Merida to their sitting room, which is full of old ratty furniture, dusty books and porcelain trinkets. The room looks as if no one has been in it for at least several years. She almost worries that sitting on any of the furniture will surely break it, but that's quickly put to bed as Roland flops down on the couch. Regina takes a seat on the opposite end and Merida takes the forest green cloth recliner. Regina shifts her vision from different focal points in the room, starting at a terrifying crossbow propped up in a locked glass case (noted, in the case that this family might actually be murderers) to a painting of a wolf howling at a full moon to a half knitted quilt sitting on their loveseat and lastly to the picture right in front of her on the coffee table. She searches for Graham's face right away, which she finds, grinning as per usual for him, with his arm slung over the shoulder of another man, who Regina knows must be related to Roland—one, because he's standing directly in front of the older man in the photo and two, because they share very similar facial characteristics, namely the dimples. She's also struck by his cool blue eyes, which are just jumping out of the picture at her. They're soft and inviting, and have Regina already wishing that she could know the man in the picture.

"Who's this?" she asks Roland, pointing at the man.

Roland peers in closely at the photo, "That's my daddy!" He sobers, "He's at work," and then is right back to being excited, "but he'll be home soon so you can meet him!"

"Well, we'll see about that," she grins, tapping Roland softly on the nose and fighting the urge to tell Granny Lucas to forget about Graham and just let her have the kid and they're even.

Before Roland can respond, they can all hear the rattling of china as it makes it's way down the hallway. When Granny, gets to the sitting room she tells the two children that there is grilled cheese in the kitchen for the both of them and to makes sure to stay out of the sitting room so that she could talk to Regina. Mrs. Lucas then extends a teacup to Regina, warning that it's hot and takes her seat on the loveseat adjacent to Regina. She takes a sip from her own tea cup, before saying anything, and Regina mirrors the motion, tipping the small cup towards her lips and feeling the warm liquid seep down her throat. It's delicious—there's a hint of apples in there, Regina's favorite fruit, and honey.

Regina makes haste to compliment and Granny nods, sitting her cup down on the table in front of her. "Listen, there's no easy way to say this or put this out there, so I'm just gonna come right out and say it."

Someone better because Regina's nearly exhausted from all the running around and secrecy.

"Regina, you said your name was?"

"Mhm." She nods.

Mrs. Lucas sighs, "Well, Regina, you won't be speaking to Graham any time soon. There was an accident about two weeks ago. He and his brother Robin had been hunting in Boston, when Graham fell out of a tree and broke his neck."

"Oh my god, he's dead?!" Regina interjects, slapping her palm into her chest again, before Mrs. Lucas could finish.

She's unamused by Regina's outburst. "No, he's alive… sort of. He's in a coma." Her hands fidget in her lap. That must be what the knitting is for. "He pinched a nerve in his spinal cord and had a seizure and he hasn't woken up since."

Regina is floored.

She knew that she wasn't going to like what she heard but this is above and beyond that. She tries her hardest to conjure words, an apology or an offering to assist, anything at all really, but nothing came to her. She just blinked steadily at the woman next to her.

"You're welcome to stay here tonight, if you'd like and visit him tomorrow."

She can't stop blinking stupidly. "Oh, I don't want to bother you or anything. I'll stay at a hotel, but if I could, I would just like to see him."

"Sure."

Regina hates what she has to ask next, but it's the most logical next step. "Do they think he'll wake up?"

"We don't know, to be honest."

She swallows hard, the feeling of swallowing a metal ball going down her throat. It was one thing to let Henry believe that his father was a stranger but now she may have to tell him that he does exist and that he's currently sitting in a Schenectady, NY hospital as a vegetable. She can already picture the destruction of Henry's world, the light dying out in his eyes, and his inevitable rebellion against the world. Her heart breaks because she's going to have to return empty handed with nothing but a sad tale and open wounds.

"If he does will he—"

"They're not sure if he'll have any damage."

"I'm so sorry."

Granny Lucas sniffles, chuckling bitterly to Regina's apology. "Not your fault." She straightens up then and looks Regina up and down smiling but Regina can tell it's fake. "But enough sadness for now. You came all this way, let me cook you a home cooked meal."

"Oh, you don't have—"

"The hell I don't, you'll stay. We're having a pot roast, you like pot roast?"

Truthfully, it's one of her favorite dishes. "I suppose I could stay."

"Excellent," she asserts, rising from her chair, "I'll go call my husband and see if we have a room for you at our bed and breakfast."

"You have a B&B?"

"You think I feed all these mouths by magic?" Mrs. Lucas exits before Regina can retort, so instead she resorts back to her habit of looking around the room but her eyes keep falling back to the picture and back to the man next to Graham. She mulls over their relationship—they must be brothers, maybe cousins. Graham never said anything about a brother but it's one of the only things that makes logical sense. Then again, they look nothing alike so who knows? Regina tries to distract herself and notes the others in the picture that she doesn't know. There's a girl with pitch black hair with red streaks here and there, wearing some very mature clothing for her age—miniskirt, crop top, fishnet and platform shoes. And then there's the guy standing next to Granny in the picture; he's short with white hair and glasses and a genial smile, and whom Regina assumes is her husband. It's hodgepodge of a family, she can tell, but she can also tell by the way they stand that this is a portrait of a happy and loving family.

The pang in her heart is back, but this time for herself. She wishes her family could be a happy one. Of course, she has Henry, and that's all the love she could ever need, but sometimes she wishes her father was still around and her mother was less of a heinous bitch. It seems only fitting now that the father of her child is in a coma. Perhaps, it was always meant to be just the two of them (and occasionally Emma) together.

She wishes, though—oh! she wishes that she could give Henry a full blown family.

"Alright, Doc got you a room all set up," Granny interrupts Regina's stream of consciousness. "I'll be starting dinner soon. Make yourself at home."

Regina nods compliantly, though silently cursing herself for getting herself in this mess.

Roland chimes in next, now popping back into the room. "Miss R'gina can we go play?"

She'd most certainly take playing with Roland then sitting awkwardly in their living room, so she hops up and agrees, "Sure," then looks to Granny for reassurance, "if that's okay?"

"Of course, just makes sure you two are inside in time to wash up for dinner."

"Of course," Regina returns in concession, and reaches out for Roland's hand. Together, they make their way to the front door, Roland nearly yanking Regina's arm out of the socket.

"Be careful!" Granny Lucas calls after them. "Oh, and Regina!"

Regina turns once more back to the sound of her name.

"Welcome to the family."


End file.
